The present disclosure relates to plinths for supporting a railway track or the like. More particularly, the disclosure is directed towards precast concrete plinths which sit on a mortar or grout bed sandwiched between the bottom of the plinth and the top of a support structure or track bed.
A plinth is defined in architecture as a block or slab upon which an item to be supported is mounted. The item could be a column, a sculpture or the like. In the present disclosure, the plinth is employed to support a railway track of the type employed by transit systems on which a train or a trolley runs.
In recent years, the overcrowding and congestion of metropolitan areas has resulted in an increasing demand for mass transit rail systems. With tight municipal budget constraints, less expensive methods for constructing railway tracks are needed to reduce costs for municipalities and transit systems. Currently, the steel rail of a transit rail system sits on concrete plinth bases that are cast in place with forms. This is less than desirable, as the construction site is an inefficient and expensive setting for the manufacture of the plinths. A need exists for a more efficient method of constructing and installing plinths for supporting railway tracks and the like.